Vice President's Remarks on Chairman C.W. Bill Young
Remarks by the Vice President at a Ceremony for the Unveiling of the Official Portrait of Chairman C.W. Bill Young2359 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C.

But it's a special pleasure to come back to the House. And while
I serve in the Senate -- and I mean no disrespect to my Senate
colleagues here today -- as the President of the Senate, my heart
will always be in the House. And it's a special occasion to be
invited to come back and celebrate these events with my good friend,
with Bill Young, and to have the opportunity to participate in one of
these ceremonies. They're rare. I've only done it a couple of times
over the years. But it's a privilege, Bill. And I want to thank you
for being kind enough to include me today.

As Bill mentioned -- Billy mentioned, Bill, of course, has been
in the House now for more than 30 years, dean of the Florida
congressional delegation. He's been an outstanding representative not
only for the state of Florida, but for the people all across America,
and a man who's known in part because of his devotion to certain key
issues that he spent a lot of time on -- special expertise, obviously,
in defense and national security, which I'll say more about in a
minute; but his work over the years on biomedical research, on founding
a national registry for bone marrow donors and then so many other
areas that left a lasting mark on the health and well being of the
people of the United States.

At a time of testing for the nation, such as we're going through
now, Bill Young has been a crucial supporter and, indeed, a leader in
rebuilding the strength and morale of America's Armed Forces.
Whether it was by improving readiness, or by enhancing the quality
of life of our military families.

Bill and I arrived in Washington within about two years of
each other. I was a very junior staffer, joined the Nixon
administration early 1969. I used to be a chart-flipper in
Cabinet meetings. (Laughter.) That's how I got my training in those
early days.

Of course, Bill arrived as a newly elected member of the House
after the 1970 election. I don't think either one of us then ever
dreamed that we'd end up where we are today, with Bill as Chairman of
the Appropriations Committee and me serving as Vice President. I know
how I got here. I was asked to run the search committee.
(Laughter.) And Bill, I'm sure, is here because of his great
leadership skills and his devotion to the causes of the House
Appropriations Committee. But he's had a distinguished career,
clearly been one of the most important and powerful members of the
House of Representatives during his years here as Chairman of
the Appropriations Committee, and a vital force in the Congress
and in the government itself.

We -- as Billy mentioned, we served together in the House for over
10 years. Bill, I learned early on, was one of those members you
could go to for advice. By the time I got elected to the House
in 1978, Bill had already been here several terms. But when you're a
freshman in the House you look for people you can sort of key off of,
people whose judgment you trust and respect, members who seem to get
it right more often than not. And you need that kind of guidance.
You can't always ask them how to vote obviously. But on the other
hand, once the electronic system went in, you could walk on the floor
and had a tough vote, you could look up, and if you could see the
green light on Bill's name on the board, you knew that was probably a
pretty sound vote.

He spent a great deal of time working with all of us over the
years. He was always one of those members who put the national
interest above all else, above partisanship, above personal
interest. He always brought a spirit of fairness and civility to
everything he did, as he's continued to do during his years of service
now as chairman of the committee.

I especially want to thank Bill for the role he played back
during the period of time when I was privileged to serve as Secretary
of Defense. I don't want to offend any of my friends on the
authorizing committees who are here today, but I learned early on that
in terms of getting things done that I had to get done, that one of the
most important things I could spend time on was working with the
members of the Defense Appropriations Sub-Committee in the House
and the Senate. The Senate side, of course, I got to work with great
senators like Ted Stevens and Danny Inouye. And on the House side,
a number of you here today were crucial to my success as Secretary of
Defense. And Bill was right at the head of the list, along with
Jack Murtha, Norm Dicks, Jerry Lewis and so many others of you who
served and have served on the sub-committee over the years.

To the extent that we were prepared in this particular time
of testing for the nation with the kind of military forces that
have been doing such a sterling and outstanding job for America
around the world, it's in no small part due to the enormous vision and
the foresight and the decisions that have been made over the years by
the members of the Defense Appropriations Sub-Committee that Bill
served on so ably for so many years.

Bill, I know when you first came to Washington all those years
ago, you never imagined that your portrait would become
part of the congressional art collection. This is a proud moment
for you, for your family, for all of us who are fortunate enough to
consider you a friend. You've got our deepest respect and our lasting
gratitude for your lifetime of service to the people of the United
States. Thank you very much and congratulations. (Applause.)